This is the first round of funding for M-indicator, which provides information about local commute and public transport to the residents of Mumbai.Shailesh Menon | ET Bureau | Updated: August 31, 2015, 10:25 IST

M-indicator, one of the largest homegrown mobile apps by users, is looking to raise over Rs 60 crore from a clutch of venture investors such as Helion Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Saif Partners to expand to metros and big cities.

"Our 90 lakh customer base is from Mumbai city only and we do not have a pan-India presence," said Abhijit Patil, COO, Mobond Software Consultancy, the maker of M-indicator. "We'll be able to double our client base once we're present in other cities."

This is the first round of funding for Mindicator, which provides information about local commute and public transport to the residents of Mumbai.

Mobond is tight-lipped about its valuation, but said it has been making profits since 2010. Sachin Teke, founder-CEO of M-indicator, said his company made profits of Rs 28 lakh last year and is debt-free with just 10 employees.

"Presently most of our revenues come from Google Adwords. We hope to expand margins by introducing more value-added services," said Teke.

Mobond has entered initial-level talks with Helion, Sequoia and Saif, said people with direct knowledge of the discussions. It is also in talks with a couple of high-profile angel investors, they said.

The company declined to divulge the names of prospective investors, citing confidentiality clauses. Emails sent to the funds remained unanswered at the time of going to press.

M-indicator, which competes with apps like Smartshehar and MeterDown, provides static time-table information about local train timings, BEST bus routes, auto and cab fares and ferry services. It is billed as the fourth largest home-grown mobile app after Hike messenger service, mobile wallet Paytm and e-retailer Flipkart.

"We've crossed the 5-million-plus hurdle (downloads as measured by app trackers) on Google Playstore alone," said Teke, adding that M-indicator has a 70%-plus retention rate among users. Retention rate is the period an app stays in a mobile and signifies the number of times of use.

Potential investors have nudged the company to introduce more live, interactive features, according to Teke.